Suction type bobbin stripper



May 13, 1958 P. J. VOWLES sucnon TYPE BOBBIN STRIPPER Filed Dec. 1, 1955 ]NVENTOR.-

PHIR-l' VOWLES PJW i ATTORNEYS Fig. 3.

SUCTION TYPE BQBBIN STRIPPER Philip J. Vowles, Fitchburg, Mass.

Application December 1, 1955, Serial No. 550,336

8 Claims. (CI. 28-19) This invention relates to machines for continuously unwinding residue yarn from spent bobbins.

The bobbins used in automatic looms in the textile industry are usually replaced when nearly spent, by the use of a feeler arm which secures an indication by sliding on the uncovered smooth shank of the bobbin, or by making an electrical contact with the same. In any case, the feeler arm must operate to discharge the bobbin before the yarn is completely unwound and therefore a residue of yarn is still wound around the shank of used or spent bobbins. Before winding a new strand on such bobbins, the residue of the old yarn must be removed and this has been a time consuming and costly operation. Many other bobbins in the textile industry such as roping or roving bobbins, present a similar problem.

Machines have been proposed which include knives for closing upon the bobbin shank to cut off the residue yarn but such knives have a tendency to gradually cut away the shank especially near the base or butt of the bobbin. Other proposed machines for the purpose advance the spent bobbins either horizontally or vertically while exposing the yarn to air blasts, air suction or brushing in various ways. The latter machines have not had the positive action of cutting devices and have sometimes failed to pick up the loose end of the yarn at all, especially with yarns formed of synthetic material or of a very fine count.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a bobbin stripping machine which cannot harm the body of the bobbin but serves to remove any and all residue yarn thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bobbin stripping machine in which individual and successive bobbins may be fed in non-timed relation and without precision positioning, whereby high speed may be achieved with comparatively few moving parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a suction type bobbin stripping machine in which each bobbin is rotated about its axis while supported in a suction slot several times the length of the bobbin, thereby exposing the same to prolonged suction while continuing its advance through the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an elongated suction slot with flared, curved side walls, the space between the walls accommodating a major portion of a small bobbin and a substantial portion of a large bobbin and the bobbin and yarn serving as a barrier in the slot to cause turbulence and varied pressure for loosening the free end of the yarn.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apertured, cover arched over the longitudinal path of a bobbin advancing along a flared suction slot thereby guiding, and concentrating, the suction flow around the yarn residue carrying shank of the bobbin.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the claims, the description of the drawings and from the drawing in which 2,834,090 Patented May 13, 1958 Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bobbin stripping machine according to the invention with the cover broken away. Fig. 2 is a side view in section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view in section on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view axially of a pair of adjacent rolls showing the suction slot formed thereby with a bobbin supported therein.

In the drawing, the bobbin stripping machine 20 includes a frame 21 of any suitable construction and having a lower portion 22 and an upper portion 23.

The upper portion 23 includes an air tight suction conduit or housing 25 having an intake end 26 which forms a mouth 27. Preferably the mouth 27 is of substantial width laterally of the machine and of substantial length longitudinally thereof. As compared to the dimensions of a bobbin, such as 28, to be stripped by the machine, the

mouth 27 is several times greater in width and length than the corresponding dimensions of the bobbin. Suction housing 25 is provided with a suction conduit connection at 29 to a suction fan 30 of'any well known type, and 33 represents the discharge conduit of the fan 30. Fan 30 is power driven by a motor such as 31, both the fan and motor being alongside the lower portion 22 of the machine 20.

The upper portion 23 of the machine 20 includes a rectangular sub frame 34 of rigid material suitably connected to the lower portion 22 by bolts, welding or the like, and arranged to overlie the rim of the mouth 27.

At the bobbin receiving end 35 of frame 34, a lateral frame piece 36 is mounted. Both frame piece 36 and the opposite end piece 39, at the bobbin discharge end 41 of the machine, are apertured at equally spaced distances thereacross as at 42 and 43. At least two such apertures 42 and 43 are provided in frame pieces 36 and 39 to serve as journals for the oppositely projecting stub' shafts such as 44 and 45 of at least two elongated cylindrical rolls such as 47 and 48. As shown, preferably more than two such rolls are provided, for example the six parallel, elongated rolls 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 and 52, to increase the capacity of the machine.

Each cylindrical roll such as 47 is provided with a hard smooth circumferential surface and the circumferential surfaces of each two adjacent rolls form a nip or slot such as 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57 of narrow clearance such as fifty thousandths of an inch. It will be apparent that the bodies of the rolls form parallel barriers across the mouth 27 of suction conduit 25 and that the nips or slots 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57 form elongated, parallel suction slots having curved side walls in cross section.

Preferably the rolls such as 47 and 48 are downwardly inclined from the bobbin receiving end 35 to the bobbin discharge end 41. Preferably also the rolls such as 47 and 48 are power rotated continuously at a speed of 4004500 R. P. M. to rotate the bobbins traveling along the slots such as 53 and 54. Pulleys suchas 58 are mounted on each stub. shaft such as 44 and driven by quarter twisted belts 38 by pulleys such as 59 on a cross shaft 60. Cross shaft 60 is rotated by a pulley or sprocket 61 which in turn is rotated by a motor 62, pulley or sprocket 63 and belt or chain 64. As shown, the pulleys are arranged to rotate all of the rolls in the same angular direction to turn the bobbins 28 on their central longitudinal axes thus exposing the residue yarn many times to the suction slot with each passage through the machine, and enabling centrifugal force to separate the loose end of the yarn from the bobbin.

Preferably also, a cover 66 which may be of transparent material, is hinged longitudinally as at 67 to the machine 20 and overlies the upper portion 23 of the machine. Rows 68 of aligned perforations 69 are pro- .vided in cover 66 above each suction slot on each opposite side. thereof, to. permit the passage of air. The cover, at least on its'interior face, is undulated and each arcuate undulation closely fits around the longitudinalpath of a bobbin down the groove formed by a pair of adjacent rolls with a line of slots on each side of the longitudinal centre line. Thus the bobbin is held down from excessive jumping during unwinding and the suction air stream is guided around the bobbin in a narrow path to unwind the loose yarn end. Each longitudinal groove 70. in the cover is of substantially semi circular cross section and terminates on each lateral side with minimum clearance. at the top of the adjacent roll to constitute longitudinally extending partitions such as 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 on the undersurface 76. of cover 66 above the axis of each roll to also prevent a bobbin riding up and over the same.

As best shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4,. the suction slots such as 53 of this invention have parti-circular side walls formed by the rolls, the slots having in cross section a wide elongated mouth 85 and a narrow elongated throat 86. The mouth 85 is of sufiicient width to receive the lower half of a small diameter horizo bobbin or a substantial portion of a larger bobbin such as 28 and bring the yarn 78 well down into close proximity to the narrow throat 86. The contact of the butt and tip of the bobbins 28 with the parti-circular side walls of the slots is tangential while the slot throat 86. is sufliciently constricted to prevent a bobbin tip of a small bobbin from falling below the nip of the rolls.

In operation a plurality of bobbins such as 28, each having a residue of yarn 78 may be fed by an operator into. each of the slots such as 53, in a single layer through openings such as 79 in cover '66, into the receiving end of the machine. The cover 66 is arranged to clear the slots just sufficiently to pass a single layer of bobbins. Each successive single layer of bobbins adds to the individual streams of single file bobbins travelling longitudinally through the machine, each stream being guided along a suction slot between the curved side walls thereof and held down therein by the cover. Each bobbin in each stream is rotated at high speed by the rotating rolls and advances down its slot due to the incline thereof, while the loose end of residue yarn 78 thereon tends to fly outwardly and is repeatedly exposed to the suction from the suction means in and under the slot. Upon the loose end of yarn 78 being caught by the suction and drawn through the slot the pull of the suction unwinds the yarn and tends to slow the advance of the rotating bobbin until it is completely unwound of yarn. If the bobbin is not already advancing down the slot by the force of gravity or the rotation of the inclined rolls the pull on the yarn in unwinding tends to overcome its inertia and start such advance. On the other hand, if a. loose end is difficult to pick up, succeeding bobbins may advance the unwound bobbin down the slot slowly and during its subsequent travel the loose end is usually picked up and unwound. practice, 98% of the bobbins passing through the ma chine are unwound and the remaining 2% can be readily observed by the operator through the apertures in the cover or through the cover itself, if transparent, and re-inserted in the machine. It should be noted that the bobbins 28 are supported in the slots only along the underface of the butt 8.0 and tip 81 on opposite sides of the bobbin axis. The yarn 78 is not in engagement with the slot walls and is free to unwind. The rolls may be rotated in either direction, that is right hand for a left hand wound bobbin and vice versa. The bobbin itself serves as a non symmetrical barrier in the slot, whereby a turbulence is created and a. variation in suction pressure on the sides of the bobbin which tends to free a yarn end which may be adhering tightly to the s of the y rn onthe bobbin.

Upon advancing and rotating the full length of the suction slots, the bobbins 28 are discharged through an opening 84 at the discharge end 41 to fall into any convenient receptacle. The unwound strands of yarn 78 pass through suction conduit 25 and are discharged from the discharge conduit 33 into any convenient receptacle such as a fabric bag for salvage or other use as desired.

It should be noted that the bobbins 2.8, regardless of length and diameter, are rotated at the surface speed of the inclined rolls and that the speed of the rolls can be varied, if desired, by any suitable means such as a rheostat 99 in the circuit of the drive motor 62. Similarly the degree of suction can be varied by a rheostat 100 in the circuit of the drive motor 31. Preferably the angle of incline of the rolls is about 12 and the size of the suction slot can be varied by substituting rolls of different diameters although I have found a clearance of fifty one thousandths of an inch to be preferable. I may use only a single line of apertures in the cover, all on one side or the other of the suction slot, to increase the suction on one side of the bobbin or the other, depending on which way the bobbins are wound.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the entrance ends of each cylindrical roll such as 47 are encircled and housed within a cylindrical recess 88 in the lateral frame piece 36. The exit ends 87 of each roll are recessed at 89 to receive a cylindrical projection 91 of stub shaft such as 45 in the lateral frame piece 39. Thus the possibility of residue yarn such as 73 becoming wrapped around the bearings 92 and 93 of the rolls is eliminated.

I claim:

1. In a bobbin stripping machine, a pair of rotatable, inclined, smooth, cylindrical rolls closely spaced in parallelism and having a nip defining an elongated suction slot of greater length than the length of a bobbin, for guiding a single file of spent bobbins in a downward longitudinal path along said slot while supporting such bobbins only on each opposite side of the underface of the tip and butt thereof; means continuously rotating said rolls in the same angular direction for frictionally rotating each bobbin around its axial centre line while the bobbin is advancing along said nip formed suction slot; and suction means continuously creating air suction through said nip formed suction slot and away from said bobbins for picking up loose ends of residue yarn and unwinding said yarn from said rotating bobbins.

2. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said cylindrical rolls are each of greater diameter than the maximum outside diameter of a bobbin to be stripped thereby for forming a suction slot therebetween with a wide elongated mouth and a narrow elongated throat,

said mouth being of sutficient lateral extent to receive a substantial portion of the lower half of a horizontal bobbin.

3. A combination as specified in claim 1 plus a cover substantially coextensive with said slot and forming an arched, perforated roof over the longitudinal path of a bobbin and adapted to prevent lateral and upward movement of a bobbin relative to its slot and to guide air in a narrow stream around the cylindrical shank of a bobbin.

4. An apparatus for removing yarn from bobbins, said apparatus comprising a pneumatic suction conduit having an air inlet mouth with a width and length several times greater than the corresponding dimensions of a bobbin; a plurality of parallel, cylindrical smooth faced, downwardly inclined rolls extending longitudinally across said mouth at spaced distances apart, the nips of said rolls having a clearance of about fifty thousandths of an inch to form a plurality of downwardly inclined parallel, suction slots extending longitudinally of saidmouth, means for rotating said cylindrical rolls all in the same angular direction for continuously frictionally rotating said bobbins and exposing thev free end of residue yarn on said bobbins to said slots, and cover means for retaining said bobbins in said slots while said bobbins are rotated and advance by gravity in single file along said slots with the tip and butt thereof supported tangentially on the circumferential faces of a pair of adjacent rolls.

5. An apparatus for continuously removing yarn from bobbins, said apparatus comprising a frame, at least one pair of inclined cylindrical smooth rolls extending longitudinally of the upper portion of said frame and rotatably mounted at each opposite end therein, each pair of rolls forming the sides of a longitudinally extending suction slot and a downward longitudinal path for said bobbins; power means for rotating the rolls of each pair of rolls in the same angular direction at high speed for continuously frictionally rotating said bobbins; an airtight conduit, embracing the entire undersurface of said rolls at its intake end, and mounted beneath the upper portion of of said frame and a power driven suction fan connected to said conduit for creating continuous suction in said conduit and in said longitudinally extending slots.

6. Apparatus as specified in claim 5 plus a cover of sheet material mounted on the upper portion of said frame, said cover having air apertures therethrough and being adapted to closely embrace the longitudinal path of a bobbin supported between said pair of rolls.

7. An apparatus for continuously removing residue yarn from spent bobbins, said apparatus comprising means for guiding a plurality of bobbins individually and successively end to end in a single line and in a single layer along a path while supported substantially horizontally under the tip and butt thereof; a narrow elongated slot in said guiding means under and coextensive with the path of the bobbins; suction means creating a suction through said slot for picking up the loose yarn end of each bobbin and unwinding the same; means for continuously, frictionally rotating said bobbins around their longitudinal axes in an angular direction opposite to the direction of wind of the yarn on said bobbins while said bobbins are guided along said path and apertured cover means coextensive with, and arched over, the path of said bobbins to closely enclose said path in cooperation with said guiding means for diverting the flow of air from said apertures, around said bobbins in a narrow stream and down into said slot.

-8. An apparatus for continuously removing residue yarn from spent bobbins, said apparatus comprising a pair of spaced, parallel, smooth cylindrical rolls inclined downwardly and adapted to support and guide a plurality of bobbins individually and successively end to end in a single line and in a single layer along the nip thereof; suction means creating a suction through said nip for picking up the loose yarn end of each said bobbin and unwinding the same while guided and supported in said nip and means for continuously rotating said rolls for frictionally rotating said bobbins around their longitudinal axes in an angular direction opposite the direction of wind of the yarn on said bobbins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 845,957 Leidel Mar. 5, 1907 2,217,945 Digre Oct. 15, 1940 2,751,621 Mitchell June 26, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 423,166 Germany Dec. 21, 1925 

